7 of the most unusual birth places
And more midwifery facts you’d never believe
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a midwife? We asked a selection of our Pulse midwives to share facts and stories that shed light on what it’s like to be in their shoes.
Why did you become a midwife?
Midwifery is a rewarding but tough job, and there’s currently a shortage of individuals in the profession. The UK has over 35,000 midwives, but with 646,900 births in NHS hospitals in the past year, they are in high demand.
So what makes someone pursue a career in midwifery? Our respondents say that for them, the decision was down to a desire to help others. Many also said that their decision was made easier by family, whose support and encouragement helped them through their studies.
What’s the most unusual birth place you’ve heard of?
Stuck up a tree during a freak flood is no one’s ideal birthing place – yet that’s exactly where one poor woman went into labour. Thankfully, both mother and baby were healthy and well. Some of the other bizarre places our midwives have heard of babies being delivered include:
- At the altar on the mother’s wedding day
- In a toilet cubicle
- Outside in a car park
- At 30,000 ft on an aeroplane
- In a corridor
- In a lifeboat
What’s the hardest part of your job?
There is a tough side to everyone’s job, but midwives face particularly difficult challenges in their day-to-day work. Our midwives all agreed that dealing with high risk patients and complicated medical issues are by far the hardest and most stressful parts of their job. When asked how they cope with stress, our respondents said that family, friends and colleagues play an important role in keeping them calm, alongside knowing that it’s ok to ask for help.
What’s the strangest request you’ve had in the labour room?
One answer to this question really caught our attention. A midwife was asked by a new mum for her placenta to be made into a smoothie! Each to their own, but we won’t be asking for the recipe.
Working with Pulse
We want to hear from you. Are you a midwife and want to find out about our latest job opportunities? Or would you simply like to speak to a member of the team? View our latest midwifery jobs here or get in contact with us.
Recommend a friend
Do you know someone who’d like to work for Pulse? For every friend you recommend, you’ll receive up to £250 when they work their first 200 hours. Your friends will benefit from excellent rates of pay, access to high quality voluntary training and development, access to ipoint and ongoing support from a dedicated account manager. Recommend your friend to Pulse Nursing here.
